Afterfire
by Fate Vione
Summary: A certain bird tried to bring Tim home.


Okay so this is.. like the future to a story I started writing and never finished. If I've got any people who read/liked 'from my hands' or Ephemeral reflections, WARNING it's full of spoilers and you may be a little lost. If you want the run down of Dani/Sparrows life, just PM me, I'm more than willing to give you the run down. So this is pre-reboot.. cept things like ages are different. Sparrow is an OC.. and I had her in the animated verse style, but Tim grows to be like the comic version... that's the short story. So instead of Tim being a teen when Bruce supposedly 'kicks the bucket' he's a young adult, but everything else around the time of 'battle for the cowl' still happens.

You can blame Dark Goddess Of Shadows for putting the idea in my head and making me want to write this so far out of chronology with my other stories.. X.X and it was supposed to be a one shot too.. if I even continue it's obviously going to be a multi.. ah.. shoot me..

Chapter 1

The cape pressed against her back, flapping out in front of her as the wind blew at her back. She stood tall, intimidating to any that would see her as a dark shadow overseeing the city from its rooftops, one of it's various guardians. Tonight had been slow, allowing her to slip away from the busier parts of the city. She closed her eyes, breathing deep the scent of the waters from the bay, the smell of the diesel lingering in the air around the docks. Years away from the city could not erase the scent, could not erase away the memory that had engraved itself into her very soul.

Since she'd arrived back in Gotham, it'd been one disaster after another. It'd been a fight to regain the city after the death of Batman. Icy tendrils slunk across her heart to think it. She didn't know how long she'd cried. The ride from her job to her apartment, the entire time she'd packed. The moment the cab had pulled away from the gates at the manor until she'd gotten to the cave. Through Dicks explanation of what had happened.. She was certain she'd dried out all her tears. Until she found her new suit, the one he'd made for her, kept for her through years, waiting for her to come back

She was empty, a hollow shell. Bruce was gone, and so was Tim. Tim hadn't been there.. Tim hadn't contacted her for so long. Never before had the mansion seemed so large, so unlike home. Never had she felt so alone. Months had gone by before they'd heard word of the former Boy Wonder, and she'd begged Oracle to hack her into his com. She'd begged him to return, knowing Dick had already tried the same. Tim was on a mission.. One she wanted to believe in, one she HAD to believe in. Tim did not pursue frivolous things, he was cool, logical.. or at least that's how he'd become since they were noisy, rebellious teens. She had to leave it to him to do what he thought best. For Gotham, for the world.. for himself.

She crouched at the edge of the building, looking across the way to the warehouse. Though none would know of it's existence without seeing it, she could feel that secret little entrance on the side, calling to her. She could feel the chill of the freezer, the eyes of the dead staring lifelessly back at her from the ice covered floor and the burn of the fire that had ravaged the building after Batmans raid. The image of the Dark Knight looming in the hallway, his white eyes boring into her came unbidden to her minds eye. Her rebirth those many years ago..

With barely a moment to register the sound of the debris scraping against the roof her body reacted on impulse. She was spinning, birdarangs in hand as she turned to face her assailant. Her defensive stance immediately fell, the birdarang nearly falling from her hand as she got a look at her company. The red tunic, the insignia, the cowl.

"Robin..." She whispered out.

"Red Robin now actually." He said, taking the few steps left to stand right in front of her as she raised herself from her stance. "And you seem to be loosing your touch. You should have heard me coming five minutes ago." He said calmly.

Sparrow tried to collect herself, to pretend she hadn't been staring at the cowl that seemed so wrong on the young man before her, suppressing the urge to throw her arms around the man and bury her face in his chest.. "So what brings you here?" She tried saying smoothly. Oh how she wished her voice sounded even when she said it..

"Wanted to see how he was handling things." Internally Sparrow cringed, knowing that 'he' was referring to Dick. "You should change it up. It's dangerous to have a routine in this line of work." He said, looking out over the warehouse he'd raided years ago when he was a child.

"I haven't been here since I've gotten back. I haven't had time, not that you'd have noticed." Sparrow said coldly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "God knows your as attentive as ever Mr. Detective." She said narrowing her eyes at him.

He turned to her, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Have you gotten shorter since last time we met?" He kept his gaze steady with hers, even as she glared back at him through the white out lenses. A few moments later he noticed a change in her breathing, the twitch of her fingers resting against her arms. However, he was still caught off guard, even if only in the slightest when she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck, her small frame pressing tightly to his.

"Why didn't you tell me." She demanded. "Why didn't you call me home." She swallowed the sob that wanted to surface. "Why did you leave," She felt him prying her from his chest, she resisted, not wanting to break apart. He raised her by the chin, staring into her lenses.

"Why did you?" He said softly, leaning down so their noses touched.

Her mouth made to speech a few times, no words falling from her tongue before she closed her mouth, pulling away.

"I'm home now.." She looked away. "You can come home too..."

"There's no home there for me.." He began.

"WE miss you! Al misses you.. HE misses you!" She caught his eyes, pleadingly. "I miss you.." She said softly.

"Damian.."

"Is not much more than a male version of me at his age." She cut off. "I was just as obnoxious." She chuckled. Realization dawned on her. "Is that why you left...?" He adverted his eyes. Sparrow fully detached herself from him. "Guess you just outgrew it.." He outgrew.. me..

"O to S." Came the crackle in Sparrows ear.

"S here.." She responded, hitting the com.

"Hostage situation downtown. B and R could use some back up."

Sparrow looked back to the cowled hero behind her, torn. "I'm on my way.." The fact that she wasn't asking for details was her signal to Oracle, a sign of needing a moment. Barbara didn't interrupt, Sparrow was certain she knew just which company she was entertaining at the moment, she always knew everything.

Sparrow approached, taking Tims hand in her own. "You;re always welcome home, no matter what you've done.." She closed Tims fingers over the small com link she'd dropped in his hand before running for the edge of the building, taking off into the night, tapping her com as she went. "O, coordinates."


End file.
